American refrigerators and their history
The American Fridge Freezers we all know and love today are the culmination of over a century and a half of development. It was in 1857 that an Australian named James Harrison made the first ice maker and refrigeration system. His invention was used in breweries and meatpacking in the Victoria region. Two years later, a Frenchman named Ferdinand Carre came up with another design in 1859. Earlier designs had used air as the coolant, but this new method had rapidly expanding ammonia instead.
Absorption refrigerators were invented by Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munters in 1922 in Stockholm. They were studying together at the Royal Institute of Technology when they came up with the idea that was later taken around the world by Electrolux. The first patent for a compact refrigerator was from Carl von Linde. Before Von Linde introduced the practical model, refrigerators were a two-room affair with mechanical parts. The compressor and motor in a basement or a room next to the kitchen where the food cooler would be stored.
Apart from the size of these machines, there were other reasons why it was impractical to have one installed. The cost was astronomical and well beyond the reach of the average home. With the idea that preserving food would save money on waste, it didn’t make sense to make the investment. Really just the commercial companies that had them and used them to store food before going to market.
It was not until 1927 that the use of the smaller units became popular. General Electric made a sulfur dioxide-based refrigerator and, in fact, produced over a million for the general public. With this model the public was finally able to practically refrigerate food at home. There are still models that work, but due to the danger posed by sulfur dioxide, it is illegal to refill them if they go bad.
In the 1930s, 60% of American homes had a domestic refrigeration unit, but it was in the 1970s that the same thing happened across Europe. Now this style of American fridge freezers has been used all over the world. The side-by-side design is instantly recognizable as many come with an ice dispenser on the front. Separate freezers became popular in the 1940s, but mass production was not immediate. It was after the end of World War II that they were in more and more homes. Advances in defrosting, which was now automatic, contributed to people’s adoption of the separate deep freezing system.
These days, refrigerators are in every home and they’re small enough to chill a pack of beers. Some that are under development will even monitor what you take out and use and create your shopping list. The list can then be activated and food can be ordered and delivered from your local supermarket. All of these things in the works and new innovations becoming available every day, so the next generation of refrigerators will be more than just cold food storage.